By Robert Morales

Golden Boy Promotions, president Oscar De La Hoya and CEO Richard Schaefer presiding, took some heat this week because of De La Hoya's comments that boxing would be better off with one promoter and one worldwide commission. For one thing, De La Hoya told Broadcasting Cable this is a sure-fire way to make certain the biggest fights get done because "a lot of times promoters are the ones in the way," he said

Schaefer, speaking via telephone from New York City on Wednesday morning, offered some clarification."

"I don't think I'm following the UFC model," Schaefer said of the MMA entity run by Dana White. "We have our own model, which is called the Golden Boy model. I don't have a problem working with other promoters, which we have shown in past shows. What we want to be is, we want to be a home to any fighter who is a free agent.

"We are interested in continuing to build our stable and expand your franchise both domestically and internationally and I think that's what he (De La Hoya) meant. I don't think that in boxing, to be the only promoter is going to work. The entry level to become a boxing promoter is very low. There are always going to be a host of promoters out there."

Schaefer said Golden Boy is not hell-bent on doing in-house fights only. Quite the contrary. He said the company wants to stage the biggest and best fights, whether between two Golden Boy fighters or one Golden Boy fighter and one toiling under another banner.

"If you do just in-house fights and it does not involve the best possible matches, then I think the fans and the media and everyone else is going to have a right to complain," he said.

To that end, Schaefer was asked if the current turmoil between Golden Boy and Bob Arum's Top Rank Inc. will mean big fights involving the two companies won't be made. Absolutely not, he said.

"Whether it involves working with Top Rank or someone else, I don't think personal feelings between promoters should interfere with fights being made because that really shortchanges the fans and you shortchange your fighters," Schaefer said. "What are people going to say, 'I don't really want to do this fight because I don't want to deal with Arum or someone else?' That is really idiotic and small-minded.

"If you were a fighter, how would you feel about that? A fighter has a limited period of time where he is at his peak and can be involved in big fights."
  
Reached at his office in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Arum was asked if he would be able to do business with Golden Boy Promotions the way things stand right now.

"No comment," Arum said.

Arum Remains Hopeful Pacquiao-Mayweather Can Be Made

Golden Boy has been handling Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s fights of late, but it is well-known promoter Don King has been courting Mayweather, who does not have a contract with Golden Boy. Arum did not mention King or Golden Boy by name, but he had this to say when asked what he would be looking for regarding Manny Pacquiao's next fight assuming he gets past Antonio Margarito in November at Cowboys Stadium.

"Mayweather," Arum said. "That is the fight we wanted to make for November. For whatever reason, Floyd didn't feel ready to fight in November. We will revisit it if Pacquiao wins in November."

Margarito Realizes Good Fortune

Arum said Margarito is fully aware of how fortunate he is to be getting a fight of this magnitude considering all the scrutiny he has been under since being caught with illegal hand wraps prior to his January 2009 fight against "Sugar" Shane Mosley.

"Absolutely," said Arum, who has stuck by Margarito all the way. "He's expressed all those views directly to me."

No Sparring Permit Needed 

Margarito was chastised during his recent request for a license in California for having sparred in Oxnard, Calif. without a sparring permit during preparation for his fight last May against Roberto Garcia in Mexico. Karen Chappelle of the State Attorney General's office made a point of telling Margarito he was not allowed to spar in the state without one since he was not licensed to fight.

Margarito is again training in Oxnard for Pacquiao. Arum was asked if Margarito was going to need a sparring permit. 

"No, sparring permits are not required for fighters who have a license (to fight) in any state in the U.S.," Arum said. Margarito is licensed to fight in Texas. "Manny has no California license and he will resume his training at Wild Card (in Hollywood); he has a valid Texas license."

Goossen Explains Williams-Martinez Catch-Weight

All we have heard the past few years is how Williams can be competitive at anywhere from 147 pounds to 168. Why then, Dan Goossen was asked Tuesday, did he insist on a catch-weight of 157 for Williams' challenge to middleweight champion Martinez on Nov. 20 in Atlantic City?

Goossen's explanation actually made sense.

"Since the fight with (Kermit) Cintron, we have been geared to fight at 147," Goossen said, in reference to Williams' four-round technical decision over Cintron in a junior middleweight fight in May in Carson, Calif. "We were trying to slide in there if Mayweather and Pacquiao didn't get made.

"We were hoping between the media pressure and the fan pressure that Bob (Arum) would not look at having Margarito or (Miguel) Cotto as the viable challengers to Pacquiao. And, quite frankly, we were looking at Mosley and or Mayweather, also, all at 147. So our direction after the Cintron fight was looking at welterweight."

Goossen Laughs off De La Hoya Comments

Fellow promoters Arum, Lou DiBella and Gary Shaw all took shots at De La Hoya in the aftermath of his comments this week. But Goossen took the consider-the-source attitude.

"I did read it," Goossen said of the De La Hoya's comments. "And its funny, throughout the years in boxing I've always felt a fighter can get away with saying anything; it's almost like a politician. And Oscar has always been the epitome of the fighter with a smile on his face, rattling off anything he wants to say and people believing it.

"It's different at this level when you're dealing with businessmen. So when I hear something like this, it kind of goes in one ear and out the other because I realize where it's coming from. It doesn't make any sense, so why dwell on it."

Arreola Back in Training

Goossen said heavyweight Chris Arreola is back in training after injuring both hands during his most recent fight - a lopsided victory over Manuel Quezada on Aug. 13 in Ontario, Calif.

Arreola broke his left hand during the fight and sustained tendon damage in his right hand. Originally, it was expected Arreola would need surgery on the broken hand, but Goossen - who promotes Arreola - said he got a second opinion that revealed no surgery was necessary.

Arreola's stock has gone down because he comes into every fight flabby - he weighed 256 for Quezada - and at this point it's not going to be easy for him to get another title shot; he was stopped after 10 rounds by champion Vitali Klitschko in September 2009 in Los Angeles.

When Goossen said Arreola was back in training, he was asked if Arreola is able to work out with both hands.

"Yes, now if we can only get him to use them," Goossen said. "That was funny."

His attempt at humor aside, there has been nothing funny about Arreola's poor training habits. Rather, it's been embarrassing, and Goossen seems to know it.

"The key thing with Chris is just giving every last ounce of energy inside that training camp to be the best he can be, and I think everything else will take care of itself," Goossen said. "If he can come to that determination, I believe he is going to be back there on the lists of fans all around the world. We can't cheat the process. The fights are won and lost in that gym."

Schaefer: Mosley Still Has Something Left

"Sugar" Shane Mosley did not look terrific in his draw with Sergio Mora on Sept. 18 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. But Schaefer said for those thinking Mosley should call it a career, one thing in particular must be considered.

"If you look at Shane Mosley, how many times has he been in anything but an exciting fight?" Schaefer said. "Maybe one or two fights? Shane Mosley is always in exciting fights. The styles of Sergio Mora and Shane Mosley, it didn't make for an exciting fight. But to say Shane should retire or hang it up, I think that is wrong.

"Nobody else but Shane should make that decision. And I do believe Shane has some great fights left and I'm certainly fully behind him and let's see where he goes from here."

Schaefer has a point. Mora is not the kind of opponent one has an easy time looking good against. The thing is this is two sub par performances in succession for Mosley. Since he's 39, that does beg the question of whether he should continue or ride off into the sunset knowing his ticket to the International Boxing Hall of Fame awaits in five years.

De La Hoya Raves About Alvarez

Saul Alvarez's sixth-round knockout of Carlos Baldomir, courtesy of a vicious left hook, made for a very animated De La Hoya after the card featuring Mora and Mosley had finished. De La Hoya - walking with his gorgeous executive assistant, Nicole - spotted yours truly walking out of the Chick Hearn Press Room. He made no mention of Mora-Mosley. Instead, he wanted to talk about the red-headed Alvarez, whose moniker "Canelo" means "Cinnamon."

"How about Canelo?" De La Hoya said. "Baldomir came up to me after the fight and said, 'Man, that mother fu***r can hit.' "

De La Hoya gave Alvarez a contract extension two days later.

Robert Morales covers boxing for the Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram and BoxingScene.com